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With Christmas fast approaching I am busy finishing making my holiday gifts. As a personal touch for some of the purchased items I decided to make little crates to hold the gifts. I used 1/4" poplar craft boards and made them in about half an hour. My dimensions are to fit these spices that I bought for gifts in the Caribbean when I was visiting my sister last month, but the design is so simple that you can easily modify it to fit whatever gift you are giving.

To start use wood glue to attach a 1/4 x 1/4 slat to each edge of the bottom piece. Next, use more glue to add both ends to the crate.

Attach a 1/4 x 1/2 slat on each side, aligning them with the top of the ends. Fill in bothe sides with the remaining slats, putting another 1/4 x 1/2 slat centered in the middle with two more 1/4 x 1/4 slats in between.

In addition to the wood glue I used my brad nailer to hold each of the slats and the ends together and make it a little sturdier. If you don't do that be sure to clamp the crate until the the glue has fully dried.

To finish, I filled the holes with wood putty, sanded everything smooth and gave the crates a coat of navy blue spray paint.

I think the crates turned out great and can be used by the recipient for small storage later. Quick, easy and cute!